Aug. 9, 2007

LOS ANGELES - UCLA sophomore James Keefe, one of 13 returning lettermen from last season's Final Four team, will undergo an outpatient surgery at the UCLA Medical Center on Friday at 10:00 a.m. UCLA team physician Dr. Sharon Hame will perform the procedure.

Keefe will have his labrum (cartilage) repaired in his left shoulder. While playing summer basketball, Keefe subluxed his shoulder. The labrum tear was discovered after an MR-arthrogram was performed on Tuesday.

"James had a great spring and summer and I was very enthused with his improvement during the off-season," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "Although this is a tough setback for him, I'm confident that he will handle it well and be ready to go in December."

Recovery and rehabilitation time is approximately four months. The Bruins open the season on Nov. 9 with a home contest against Portland State.

Keefe, a 6-8, 220-pound forward, was a McDonald's All-American at Santa Margarita Catholic HS in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., in 2006. He appeared in 32 of the 36 games last year, averaging 6.8 minutes per contest and 1.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

"This is disappointing because I've been working hard this spring and summer in workouts getting my body stronger," Keefe said. "I was really looking forward to my sophomore season, so this is a big disappointment for me. Hopefully I'll be able to recover quickly and be back at full strength by the time Pac-10 play starts."